A Conversation with Reuben Reuel

What initially sparked your interest in pursuing a career in the arts for those who may
not be familiar with your background?

It started at home! My father was a well-known and respected jazz musician, and my mother also had an artistic and creative background. I was introduced to the arts from birth, so it only made sense for me to pursue something artistic. I have multiple interests outside of music, I love to curate and host shows, manage projects, and more. My educational background was also quite artistic, my alma maters are LaGuardia High School (I was a drama major) and The New School (a Theater and The Arts major with a minor in psychology.)

Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your latest single?

My latest project hosts a few songs, my more recent one being my song ‘Surreal.’ It’s my favorite song! I was inspired by the feeling of romance, both the innocent bittersweet feeling and that obsessive component to it. Summer 2022 was a very interesting one for me especially in terms of this – I was kinda love bombed lol but it ended up creating a work of art!

What themes or emotions are explored in this song?

Love, romance, obsession, potentiality, surreality, fascination… etc.

How does this single fit into the larger narrative of your music career or your upcoming
Projects?
I think it fits into my narrative of creating music that isn’t the most “traditional” and that makes you think about what my intentions were behind the song, why these songs go together, why there was a flip in the middle. One artist I really admire is Tinashe – she does this quite often in her music. I don’t think anyone was really expecting this kind of song from me and I want to keep people on their toes.

Could you describe the creative process behind this single, from concept to production?

It was originally two songs, the first half was a song that S!lky Jones & I created years ago called Blind, which we ended up revisiting while creating my project ‘Odyssey.’ The chorus of Surreal was originally the beginning of the verse, fun fact. The original song just didn’t sound or feel right to us and I’m so happy we decided to wait it out and revisit it when the time was right. The production was more Lo-fi, S!lky loves some lo-fi, and the beat was out of my wheelhouse at the time. We ended up playing around with the beat and what really got us was us reversing the synths. I think it was an accident but I was like “KEEP THAT!” I love a good happy accident in music! The second half was a song called ‘Rly Like U’ produced by my friend Janelovesu! It was the first song she ever created that was strictly drill and the beat was insane. I ended up putting them both together and it worked really well. The drill beat was even faster before we put them together, so I wonder what it would’ve sounded like if we kept the same BPM.

What can listeners expect to experience or feel when they listen to this track?

Hopefully nostalgia, but also something they can dance to, something they can relate to, something they can feel on a personal level. I love making music you can dance to but also be able to really understand on a one-to-one level.

Are there any interesting stories or anecdotes from the recording or writing of this song
that you’d like to share?

The falsetto in the second verse after the drill switch is me! I asked a lot of people what they thought it was when they first heard it and they thought it was just a synth (there is a synth under it– my vocals came first and we created the synth to add some heaviness to it) and I was so happy because that’s exactly what I wanted people to think it was … but it’s me the whole time.

As an artist, can you identify three key traits that define you?

Dynamic, Distinct, Different

What can we anticipate in terms of your upcoming projects?

More collaborations with other artists and individuals! I released a remix to my single 12×2 with 0utlaw and there are a few other remixes in the works, as well as some new songs. I don’t know if I’m going to put an entire project or EP out just yet but definitely have some new things in the works. 2024 will be a year filled with music!

Where can our readers find additional information about you and your work?

You can find me at my social media handles all under the username @itsreubenreuel, and my website reubenreuel.com